Wednesday’s Scottish Gossip

Major League Soccer club Atlanta United have opened talks to sign Giorgos Giakoumakis from Celtic and could gazump Urawa Red Diamonds, who had looked favourites to take the 28-year-old striker to the J-League. (Football Scotland)external-link

Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumakis has agreed a move to Atlanta United, but the transfer has yet to be rubber stamped by the Scottish champions. (SDNA)external-link

Centre-half Moritz Jenz is poised to end his loan spell with Celtic from Lorient because of his lack of game time, with the 23-year-old having options in his native Germany. (Scottish Daily Express)external-link

Moritz Jenz’s pending exit from Celtic could mean there will be no January move for fellow centre-half Stephen Welsh, who has been attracting interest. (The Scotsman)external-link

Millwall and Hibs are getting close to an agreement as they continue discussions over the possible transfer of striker Kevin Nisbet to the Championship club after a big-money transfer bid was posted by the Londoners. (Daily Record)external-link

Hibernian have rejected a £1m offer from Millwall for Scotland striker Kevin Nisbet as it falls short of their valuation of the 25-year-old. (The Scotsman)external-link

English League One club Portsmouth are leading the race to sign 30-year-old Sunderland defender Bailey Wright, who has also been linked with Aberdeen, Derby County and Hibs. (Edinburgh Evening News)external-link

Oxford United 27-year-old Stuart Findlay is not currently on Hibs’ radar despite the Edinburgh club looking for cover should fellow centre-half Ryan Porteous be sold, while there has not been any contact between the club and former academy director John Park about becoming their new director of football. (Edinburgh Evening News)external-link

Rangers recruitment chief John Park is under consideration for a return to Hibs as their new director of football. (The Scottish Sun)external-link

Standard Liege midfielder Nicolas Raskin has agreed a four-and-a-half year contract with Rangers and the Ibrox side will look to complete the deal on Wednesday for the 21-year-old, who has undergone a medical in London and with a £900,000 transfer fee likely should the Belgian club allow him to leave now rather than when his current contract ends in the summer, according to journalist Sacha Tavolieri of Foot Mercato. (Foot Mercato via Football Scotland)external-link

Charlie McCann’s transfer from Rangers to Forest Green Rovers includes a significant sell-on fee for the Premiership club as part of the deal while also holding “return options and matching rights” on the 20-year-old midfielder. (Glasgow Evening Times)external-link

Jim Goodwin is braced for the sack as Aberdeen manager following his side’s humiliating Scottish Cup defeat by sixth-tier Darvel, with a board meeting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, by which time chairman Dave Cormack will have sounded out the club’s US-based directors – Tom Crotty and Dimitros Efstathiou. (The Scottish Sun)external-link

Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin is poised for crisis talks with his players after chairman Dave Cormack meets his board of directors to discuss the 41-year-old Irishman’s future. (Press & Journal)external-link

Heart of Midlothian are bracing themselves for a fresh approach from Blackpool for centre-half Toby Sibbick after rejecting a bid worth upwards of £600,000 from the Championship club for the 23-year-old. (Daily Record)external-link

Riku Danzaki is set to arrive in Scotland within the next 24 hours as the 22-year-old forward nears a move to Motherwell from Consadole Sapporo. (Daily Record)external-link

Ross County are close to securing the signing of 26-year-old forward Eamonn Brophy from St Mirren. (Press & Journal)external-link

Livingston manager David Martindale has confessed he needs to trim his squad this month to balance his books as he has to find an extra £200,000 to help pay for the introduction of VAR and for repayments towards the loan received from the Scottish Government during the Covid-19 pandemic. (The National)external-link

Dundee United 16-year-old Rory MacLeod admits he is flattered by reports that the likes of Newcastle United and West Ham United are keen on him, but the striker is staying focused on his current club. (The Courier)external-link

Rangers are poised to lose head of intermediary academy Mark Spalding to USL Championship club Memphis 901, where he will become Stephen Glass’s assistant manager. (Football Scotland)external-link

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